


today and all the rest

by towine (blacktreecle)



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Future Past DLC Timeline, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:48:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22539613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blacktreecle/pseuds/towine
Summary: Owain didn't expect Inigo to stay behind with him. Neither did he expect the feelings that welled up in his heart, afterwards.
Relationships: Azur | Inigo/Eudes | Owain
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 5





	today and all the rest

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SaraJaye](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/gifts).



> dear sarajaye, i cannot tell you how excited i was to see owain/inigo among your chocolate box requests. i love those two so much and jumped at the chance to write them again, so thank you for giving me the opportunity! i hope you enjoy this~
> 
> thank you allie/artenon for the beta!

The adrenaline is what keeps Owain from collapsing into the ground.

They passed the border into Ylisse miles ago and the Risen horde chasing them fell away soon after. But the adrenaline, the _fear_ , hasn’t let go. Owain, Inigo, Brady, and Yarne race through thickets and shrubbery, dodging tree trunks and branches, not made any easier by the rain pouring relentlessly from above. Owain’s lungs burn with every heaving breath he takes, and the muscles in his legs scream for mercy but he does not stop. Not with Ylisstol so close, not with the Gemstones finally in their hands—

“Wait,” Yarne gasps, his footsteps faltering. “Wait, wait, I can’t—”

Owain hears the words but his brain doesn’t quite register them. He keeps running until someone seizes his sleeve, and Owain is jerked back with an embarrassing yelp.

“He said _wait_ , you moron!” Brady growls at Owain, then turns to Yarne with concern. “What’s up?”

“I can’t—” Yarne doubles over, hands on his knees, sucking in air with greedy gasps. “We’ve been running forever. A break, please? Just—Just a minute…”

“But we’re so close!” Owain glances out at the horizon. If he squints hard enough through the haze of the rain, he can see the spires of Ylisstol in the distance.

“The sun’s already setting, there’s no way we’ll make it to Ylisstol today,” Brady says.

“But—” Owain clenches his fists, anxiety spiking in his chest. But Lucina is waiting for them, but they only have so much time, but, but—

A hand settles on his shoulder.

“We’ll be no use to Lucina if we’re dead from exhaustion,” Inigo says, stepping into Owain’s view. “We can rest one night, Owain.”

Owain bites his lip, but Inigo’s hand on his shoulder squeezes once, and with that, the tension begins to seep from Owain’s body. Fatigue rushes in its place.

“You’re right,” Owain says, probably the first time he’s ever said such words to Inigo. But there’s no denying it. “We need to gather our strength for the battle ahead.”

“Thatta boy,” Brady says and shuffles over to Yarne with a vulnerary. Yarne has settled himself at the base of a tree, slumping against it while he catches his breath.

Owain doesn’t quite know what to do. As tired as he is, his sword hand still twitches, restless at the prospect of the battle to come despite the sizable distance still lying between them and Ylisstol.

Inigo’s hand moves from Owain’s shoulder down to the crook of Owain’s arm, and he pulls him towards the shade of a tree. “No need to stay in the rain any longer,” he says. “Unless you want to catch a cold.”

“Of course not.” Owain frowns, but he follows Inigo to the tree. It’s an immediate relief to not have to blink rainwater out of his eyes. “But there’s hardly any use for it, I’m already soaked.”

“Then now begins the long process of drying, hm?”

Inigo sits and, for once, does not complain about the mud that dirties his clothes. Tonight is a night of firsts, it seems. He tugs on Owain’s sleeve, urging him to sit with him. Owain complies, too tired to think about how odd it is for Inigo to pull him around like this.

They sit, their sides pressed together in wet, clingy contact that would otherwise be uncomfortable, but to Owain’s frazzled nerves it feels oddly comforting. Inigo tilts his head back against the tree, his eyes closed. Owain is close enough to notice rainwater collect in droplets at the tips of his eyelashes. He’s also close enough to notice a droplet race down Inigo’s neck, and Owain doesn’t know why his eyes follow it to the dip of Inigo’s collar.

He almost looks peaceful. Owain remembers the look on his face when Owain told him to cross the bridge, to sever it and go on to Ylisse without him. He expected surprise, but what he didn’t expect was the fierce defiance that overtook Inigo then, the sheer incredulity at the notion that he would leave Owain behind. It wasn’t an easy decision for Owain to make, but he was ready to face his fate for the sake of his allies.

Then Inigo cut the bridge and chose to stay with him. And suddenly death felt like the last thing Owain would allow to happen. Not to Inigo. Not if Owain could help it.

“Quit brooding,” Inigo says, cracking an eye open to look at him. “Can’t even rest properly, can you?”

“How can I?” Owain’s right hand curls and uncurls restlessly.

“Just try. I’m certainly trying even if you won’t.” Inigo shuts his eyes once more.

A moment passes, just Inigo breathing quietly and Owain fidgeting beside him.

It doesn’t take long for Inigo to sigh and say, “Alright, I can _feel_ you wanting to say something. Out with it.”

“I just—” Owain falters when Inigo looks at him fully, strands of wet hair clinging to his cheeks, his neck. A strange urge to reach out suddenly overtakes him, but he resists.

“What?” Inigo says impatiently.

“I wanted to say thank you,” Owain blurts.

Inigo raises his brows. “Whatever for? It’s not like I called that mysterious army to our aid.”

“Of course not, I know that.” Owain gestures vaguely, his face heating up with every word that fumbles out of his mouth. “I wanted to thank you for… for staying. Even when I asked you not to.”

“As if I’ve ever enjoyed taking orders from you,” Inigo jokes, but Owain can sense the tremor in his voice.

“I am here because of you,” Owain says, as serious and steady as an oath. Inigo’s eyes widen. “And I owe you everything for that.”

Inigo laughs, a breathless and trembling sound. “You owe me nothing.”

“Inigo—”

“You owe me nothing because the only thing I want from you is for you to live.”

Red blooms across Inigo’s cheeks, vibrant in the gloomy gray of the night, and he looks so warm and alive Owain once again feels the urge to reach out and touch him.

Inigo says, “I want you to live much, much longer than today.”

Owain feels the beginnings of a smile on his face. “As long as I can wish the same of you.”

“Now I’m the one who owes you, is it?” Inigo scoffs, turning his face away. But the corners of his mouth are twitching and Owain’s smile widens to a grin. “Very well.”

The restlessness that plagues him ebbs away slowly, gently. It helps to press up against Inigo’s side a little more, and if Inigo doesn’t push him away, then Owain will continue to do so.

“Surely there’s something else you want?” Owain says. “For me to stop talking so much, perhaps?”

“If you ever stopped talking, then the end of the world would truly be upon us,” Inigo says wryly, and Owain laughs. “So no, there’s nothing else I want.”

Inigo’s voice turns softer, just a touch above a whisper. “Except, maybe, for us to stay like this a little longer.”

That, Owain can do.


End file.
